Industry Group Urges G20 to Support Functioning WTO, Open Markets
The Grain Club, an alliance of German agricultural and food industry associations, is calling on G20 nations to strengthen the World Trade Organization (WTO) and ensure open markets for supply security.
Berlin – The Grain Club, an alliance representing various sectors of the German agricultural and food industry, has urged G20 nations to champion open markets and reinforce the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The WTO is currently facing significant challenges, according to the group. Professor Gabriel Felbermayr of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy noted in the trendbrief that escalating trade conflicts create uncertainty and harm all involved parties, highlighting the need for a stable international trade system.
Germany ranks third in international agricultural trade, with exports and imports significantly increasing over the past two decades. The Grain Club emphasizes that the value creation within Germany's agricultural processing chain is dependent on raw material imports, making the strengthening of international trade structures a critical task.
The organization also calls for fair local competitive factors in Germany and avoidance of market distortions. Thorsten Tiedemann, chairman of the Hamburg Stock Exchange's grain dealers association, stated that policymakers must support the continued functionality of international systems like the WTO.